Years Worth of Love
by Angel-Hiragizawa32
Summary: Behind every relationship lies a story on how two people keep the flame burning. One was a sorcerer and the other was an almost perfect girl. This is their story and their emotions told by a faithful observer. ExT oneshot.


A/n: Hello everyone! It has been so incredibly long since I have actually posted anything on fanfiction. I find myself in the worst writer's block and of course, with time limitations it is so incredibly hard to write anything. Therefore, I would say that this is possibly one of my last pieces of work for a very long time and I send my apologies to those who have been waiting for my other two D/G fics to be updated. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this piece from me. Thank you so much for being here. Love always, Angel-Hiragizawa32.

* * *

A** Special Dedication**: This one-shot is written for someone incredibly special on our two year anniversary. I will make it short and sweet because by the time he reads this, it would probably have passed. So, a short I love you and a long thank you for being with me. Only God knows how much you put up with me and for that, I am incredibly blessed to have you in my life.

Oh, I forgot. There's someone called **Sheryll **who typed into my life about two years ago and she's been having little issues with her exams. So, I'll dedicate this little fic to her too. Oh and **my sisters** too!

I love you all.

* * *

The story begins in Tomoeda, a small and quiet town in Japan where the most unlikely events would occur. I suppose you could call it the Japanese Roswell although there are not any aliens around here, just strange snow in autumn and tree vines grabbing at you. Of course, those are just elementals and spirits, which have escaped from the Clow Cards. Now these cards are special because they were sought after by two young children by the name of Sakura Kinomoto and Syaoran Li. Eventually, the cards were captured and the two were trialed by Yue for possession of the cards. Now, this would probably sound a bit strange to you but it did happen. Sakura gained possession and later on, had to make every single card her own and to make things worst, the arrival of a strange young boy alongside with his two creatures placed many obstacles in her path. However, Sakura managed it on her own but then; things became complicated when dear Syaoran had to leave for Hong Kong. A few years later, the 'void card' decided to create havoc, which brought the two lovebirds together, but Syaoran had to leave again. Then, he returned for Secondary School and they both lived happily ever after. This story is not about the main characters of the story or the re-telling of their story but it is focused more on two other relatively minor characters in the story. Today, I am here to tell you about Tomoyo Daidouji (Sakura's best friend) and Eriol Hiiragizawa (Clow Reed's reincarnation)'s story on how their relationship began. By the way, my name is Spinel Sun or as my annoying partner in crime would call me, Suppi-chan.

(O.o)

When the cards were officially Sakura cards, Master decided that it was best for us to leave for England together with his love, Kaho Mizuki who was probably about 20 years his senior (in his current form). Ruby Moon (Nakuru-chan) and I have always speculated on how long their relationship would have lasted. They lasted for about 3 years and one day, Mizuki-sensei left Master telling him that the relationship was strange as she was not truly attracted or in love with him but she was actually in love with Clow's spirit which was in him. Obviously, it left Master heartbroken but he would not reveal his emotions to anyone. True, Master was still a boy and it was not his fault that he was reincarnated, bringing back what was from the past with him. Master was still his own person without Clow's spirit. After the breakup, Master became icy and cold but it was often hidden behind his warm smiles and joking manners. He was a broken spirit in the inside and he refused to let it heal. He would wallow in his pain on the piano where he would express his sad emotions with Satie's Gymnopedie. It was slow and moving but it was utterly heartbreaking although the piece was originally symbolizing naked men reveling. When Master turned 16, he decided to permanently move back to Tomoeda where he knew the people would accept him with open arms without questioning his wealth.

Initially, we were all nervous returning to Tomoeda where all three of us had once imposed catastrophic damage and where all three of us had probably the best days of our lives. Master enjoyed being his mischievous evil self while Ruby Moon had fun being Nakuru-chan in a local High School where she would chase after Touya Kinomoto (Sakura's brother) and feeding me excessive amounts of sugar when she knows that I cannot handle sugar. Those were the days and with time, things would have changed. Surprisingly, not a lot changed in the town or the people. The only thing that had possibly change was probably the fact that the Card mistress had began a relationship with her childhood sweetheart and past rival, Syaoran Li. Relationships had began even when we were here but they became more developed and the people were more mature although Yamazaki-san was still the same old exaggerated boy he had always been. Master was happier here with people his own age who did not treat him as Clow but more of Eriol Hiiragizawa. He was still broken but the warm friendships he gathered were almost enough to take away his pain.

I became closer to the Card Mistress and Ceroberos (but that is only because I wanted to kick his butt in video games) as well as the Card Mistress' best friend, Tomoyo Daidouji. She had changed in appearance and it was not long before I knew that she was heartbroken too. When she was younger, she used to chase the cards just as the Card Mistress did and she was the one who made funky outfits for them. Daidouji-san was probably one of the most gifted and talented people in this world with almost everything a person could have ever wanted. She was what Master would call a 'perfect porcelain doll'. I have to agree there but behind that, porcelain smile was a tale of a broken heart. She was deeply in love with the Card Mistress but she knew that it would not have happened and instead of allowing her emotions to escape her, she decided to bury it deep in her heart and never letting it out. According to Ceroberos, Daidouji-san had once sung her emotions out at a concert and it had affected her so badly that she broke down in the middle of it. That was the first time anyone had seen her like that and that was most certainly the last time. When I told Ruby Moon this, she was also in tears but eventually we both came to contemplate the possibility of Daidouji-san helping Master heal his broken spirit and vice versa.

They began their friendship over a series of letters in a pen pal mode when the school decided to help the students become more socialized with each other as well as improve their English writing skills. The names of students were pulled out of a box and they were to exchange letters every week. It started of as a ridiculous and silly thing to do according to Master but after a few letters, he began to get more and more pulled into Daidouji-san's words. With every letter, he unknowingly began to fall in love with her. What he did not know was, she was already very much in love with him. As the letters became more and more personal, Daidouji-san struck a chord when she asked about Mizuki-sensei. Reminded of the past, Master wrote his emotions into that one letter and sent it to her. Daidouji-san replied and shared with him, the same heartbreak she had once had. Eventually, the letters led to daily meetings at the lockers and exchanges of hugs when he walks her back to her mansion. Master was not thick as he knew Daidouji-san's emotions for him but of course, to be sure, he cornered her one day on MSN messenger and forced it out of her. It was the 10th of October when they began their relationship. That night, Master stopped playing Satie and began to play Pachelbel's Canon in D, as it was Daidouji-san's favourite piece.

There were many hiccups in their relationship and it started at the very early stages of their relationship. The first being Master's mistake in forgetting their date in the park which led Daidouji-san to be soaked in the rain for almost three hours. When she stood at the main door of the Hiiragizawa Mansion, Master was shocked beyond words. That was the first mistake that he made and it was one that would stay with him forever. He would always remember the pure sadness and disappointment in her eyes when he first met her eyes upon opening the door. He felt that no apologies could ever take back whatever damaged that he had caused.

_"I'm so sorry, I really did not mean to have stood you up"_

_"It's alright, I'm just feeling a bit cold. You know, rain and wind really does not mix""_

To add salt to the wound, Daidouji-san was leaving for France the next day to meet up with her mother whom was there for a business trip for two months. Master made sure that he saw her off and that she knew that he was sorry for standing her up at the park. Master was almost certain that the relationship would have ended that day but Daidouji-san was more than just forgiving, we (Ruby Moon and I) knew that she was just deeply in love with him. Master was blind to have not noticed how she had really felt for him when they had been in a relationship for the few months that it was.

When Daidouji-san returned, she bought Master a Beanie Baby soft toy puppy by the name of Bones who she renamed to be Pupz Junior as she had the same toy named Pupz Senior. I was not pleased with the purchase because Pupz Junior was more adorable than I was, as much as I did not want to admit. Along with the soft toy, there was a silver ring attached to it and inside was engraved both Daidouji-san's name and Master's name. Master was happy when he had received the gifts and resolved to treat the young Daidouji-san better in their relationship. Inside, Master knew that he was kidding himself. He was in truth, still healing from the pain that Mizuki-sensei had caused him. Deep inside, he was hurting Daidouji-san on purpose, knowing that she would eventually leave him. He knew that hurting her would allow her to see who he truly was on the inside, broken and rotten. Of course, he did hurt her but she still stood by him, believing that there was something really hurting him on the inside. All she wanted was just to help him out of that state and show him that if she was able to recover from a broken heart, he should be able to do so as well.

Soon came the annual Festival of Lights where there were stalls for food, games and there were wishes of luck made by couples at the sacred shrines. The whole group, which included the card mistress and her friends, had organized the outing. Master refused to go because he knew that by going he would be making a commitment and a seal to the relationship with Daidouji-san. He was not sure if he was truly ready for it. They have been going out for almost half a year and in that time, he was still contemplating his feelings for the raven-haired girl. He could not understand why she was still with him after all that she has gone through with him. No matter what he did, she would still be there supporting her and she stayed there for him. Ruby Moon would occasionally bitch, to put it lightly, at Master for his inconsiderate and selfish actions, which would often end up in Ruby Moon not talking to Master for a few days. Master would often confide in me about his situations but he would keep his emotions in tact and hidden, as not to reveal them to me at all. Master continuously refused Daidouji-san whenever she insisted he joined the group as well as her for the Festival. Master, being his stubborn self, refused to attend until he was 100 sure of his commitment to the relationship. Daidouji-san was not impressed because she had to answer to her friends. After the Festival, Master's descendent, Li-kun came by and punched Master in the face, telling him off for making Daidouji-san unhappy. Master knew that she was but he was not aware on how much more damage he had caused to the relationship. No doubt, Daidouji-san was hurt but Master redeemed himself by sending her a bouquet of her favourite roses and delivered it himself along with breakfast.

Then, there was one day when Daidouji-san was over and she pulled Master into shreds, forcing him to come out with his inner feelings. He revealed to her that he had intentionally hurt her because he did not want to risk being heartbroken ever again. He told her that he had risk everything for Mizuki-sensei and he had nothing more to offer Daidouji-san. He then ran out to the gardens where it was raining and started shouting at the skies, cursing Clow Reed for using him. Ruby Moon and I watched at Daidouji-san ran after him to comfort him. It was almost too much like a sappy romantic movie to me but it held a lot of meaning for the two lovebirds.

_"Curse you Clow for using me. Curse you for getting me hurt and curse you for making me hurt others"_

Daidouji-san stood behind him, listening to him shout his heart out as he continuously punched a tree. His knuckles were bleeding and the tree was slightly dented. Eventually, he fell to his knees and cried. For the first time in our existence, we saw Master cry. Ruby Moon was crying herself and she mentioned something about real men cry.

_"Eriol-kun, if you continue to keep this anger inside of you, you are only hurting yourself"_

_"I deserve to be hurt for all the pain I've put you through"_

_"No Eriol, you don't. You have to learn how to forgive yourself"_

_"Forgive myself? I can't, Tomoyo. Don't you understand? I can't"_

_"Yes, you can because I'm here with you and I'll help you"_

_"How can you love me after all this?"_

_"I don't know. All I know is that I won't stop" _

I watched intently as the young raven-haired girl approached Master. She put her arms around him and whispered a few words of comfort into his ears, which gave him the assurance that he needed. Then, she kissed him and with those kisses, she promised him that things will be fine. They stayed in the rain for a while, kissing and whispering promises. At that moment, Master knew that he had to move on and if anything had mattered, it would have been her. When they came back inside to dry up, it was utterly quiet between the two. It was as if there was a silent conversation going on. Master asked Daidouji-san to stay for dinner as well as the night at our mansion. Ruby Moon was beyond excited when she found out.

Daidouji-san and Master cooked dinner together and for once, it was not covered with sugar, which was an extra bonus for me. They made macaroni and cheese and fried dumplings. It was an odd mix but it was great. I noticed that there were many 'accidental' touches between the two, when they were passing each other and when they were preparing the food. It was all done in silence but there was obviously a secret language being spoken as they were sparks flying all around the room. Dinner was eaten with light conversation and it was relatively hilarious, as Ruby Moon would not shut up about how great the noodles were. Ruby Moon and I volunteered to the dishes while the two lovebirds held hands and walked to the balcony where they disappeared to the whole night. Well, we did spy on them and it was shocking how discreet Ruby Moon was. I assumed that Master knew we were there but he was just too engrossed in Daidouji-san to actually care. At the balcony, Master held Daidouji-san from behind, tightly as they both took in the fresh air that the rain left as well as the beautiful scenery of Tomoeda. From what we could see, they were getting along just fine after Master's outburst. In addition, from what we know, the two did spend a night in his room. What they were doing, we don't want to know.

Of course, there were many difficulties in the relationship but from what we noticed, it was communication that was a real concern. True, Master was his own person and he was sometimes relatively absent minded when it comes to relationships. He could be quite blind to see the little things that Daidouji-san (who has now allowed us to use Tomoyo-chan) does for him like making him bento boxes or her random notes in his lockers. Tomoyo-chan would often keep things inside which would not help Master, as he is after all, male. Often, the two would be together and not speak a word at all. Master would act extremely cold and Tomoyo-chan would just sit in silence, smiling as if nothing was wrong. Occasionally, it would end up in a large drama where Tomoyo-chan would cry and Master would feel guilty but they would still resolve their issues without really resolving them. One way or another, the problem will come back. There was that one night when Master came home feeling extremely grouchy and he made many of the vases in the house explode. The last time he was that angry was when Mizuki-sensei left him. Concerned as I was, I went to find out what was wrong.

_"I've hurt her once again. It seems like no matter what I do, it will hurt her and it seems so much better if I just leave her then to continuously hurt her"_

_"Master, if I may be so bold. Then, why don't you leave her?"_

_"Because I love her, Spinel Sun. Because I truly love her"_

Years have past and issues were still unresolved but they where still together. There still came a time when Master had to make a decision. The years had shown how completely different they were behind the similarities that they shared. Eventually, Tomoyo-chan would have to succeed her mother's business. Years of privilege slowly turned into a lifetime's worth of obligations. Master knew that eventually, she would have to leave him to continue on the Daidouji business empire. With time, they both eventually grew apart. Love was still there but the flame was burning out. Little things that meant something at one point of their relationship became almost non-existent.

Lately, things have been worst. It was about two weeks ago that Tomoyo-chan told Master that she was leaving for Paris to help her mother out with the toy company. Master, being the daft male he was expressed his acknowledgement and nothing more than that. He took things as if nothing was to change. Ruby Moon was beyond furious. She had once again taken the 'I refuse to talk to him until he does something right' stance. I was relatively surprised by Master's reaction, myself. He was his usual self where he would spend the day working at the local Hospital healing his patients and he would come back at about nine at night. Master would usually go into the study room where he would relax on the red armchair that he loved and just gaze out the window. Tomoyo-chan would usually come by around and bring him home-cooked dinner every Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays. As Master was usually on call, his time with Tomoyo-chan was more than just limited.

Time became one of the factors that strained their relationship. As expected, Tomoyo-chan had not come by ever since she told Master about her trip to Paris. Master did not seem like he really cared and me, being my subtle but concerned self, went to talk to Master.

He looked tired as if he had been working all of his life. The man was barely 26 years old in body but his features seemed to have worn him down to mid-30s. He sat next to the fireplace, looking out the window as usual but his eyes were closed. I walked in, announcing my presence by a mere knock on the door. Master was silent but I assumed he heard me. I flew to his lap and made myself comfortable there. Master petted my head and stroked my fur.

"I'm assuming you came to talk to me about Tomoyo", he started.

I nodded my head and looked at him, waiting for his answer.

"What bothers you, Spinel Sun?" he asked.

"It is the same thing that bothers Ruby Moon, Master. Why have you not bothered to spend more time with her?"

He sighed and opened his piercing sapphire eyes. They seem to have lost a lot of life in them. He pointed towards the window and asked me to look. So, I looked and Master waved his hand to make what seemed far away to be nearer. There stood Tomoyo-chan in her room packing her clothes and tears streaming down her cheeks. Tomoyo-chan was beautiful as ever. Her porcelain skin was flawless, her hair was slightly shorter now with soft waves, and she had a dainty figure, which Ruby Moon seemed to obsess over quite easily. I did not quite understand what Master meant when he asked me to look at what he was watching.

"I've been watching her from this window ever since I started working in the hospital. There had been so many nights that she had loss sleep and so many nights where she would cry because I've hurt her with my non-caring absent minded nature. Every single teardrop strikes my heart as if I had been stabbed continuously and every night that she did not sleep, I'd stay here to watch her until she fell asleep", he said.

"Have you talked to her about this?" I asked.

"Spinel Sun, do you think she would have appreciated the fact that I observe her at her own private time? There are some things that you can talk about and there are some things that you should not mention no matter how problematic it can be. I respect her privacy enough to not tell her that I know her problems. I waited for her to tell me her problems but I soon came to realize that I had been the problem all this time", Master said, in a defeated tone.

I tried to offer him as much comfort as I can, in this form of a soft toy.

"Ever since our relationship started, I have caused her nothing more but pain. She had been kind enough to not complain and extremely tolerant to receive the treatment I gave her. Every time I tried to push her away, she would still stick around and at the end of the day, it was extremely hard not to fall in love with Tomoyo Daidouji. These past few years have happened not because of me but because she worked at it. I worked at it for a while but stopped because I realized that one day she will have to leave me and there is nothing that I could have possibly done to stop her from what was to come for her. I am a broken sorcerer, Spinel Sun. I cannot work magic as I used to and I cannot stop the inevitable", Master explained.

"Master, there are no inevitabilities in this situation. It is either you go out there and get her, tell her that you still care or you just let her go knowing that you have just let go of someone who loves you probably more than anyone else in the world has ever loved you before. How can you sit here and not go after her or at least offer her what you have left?" I asked, in a relatively gruff voice.

Master seemed startled but he remained calm.

"I know that there is someone who would look after her better that I ever could. I know that no matter how much I love her, I cannot stop myself from giving her the same amount of pain. I cannot stop her from leaving for Paris tomorrow and I certainly will not do so. This is what she wants; I will not stand between her and her dreams. I love her more than anyone would ever know and I will not be the person who pulls her down instead of up", Master said, in a final tone.

I was dumbfounded. I cannot help but feel as if I needed to pull a Ruby Moon. I left his lap and flew out of the room but before I left, I mentioned a few words.

"Tomoyo-chan deserves more than just a cold goodbye. If you really love her, you would at least see her off tomorrow and tell her that you do care", I left.

(O.o)

Ruby Moon and I left the house to see Tomoyo-chan leave for Paris. The whole group was there except for Naoko and Rika who were in Osaka doing Naoko's book publishing. The Card Mistress looked like she had been crying for days, which would not really surprise us at all. The girls were crying buckets of tears while Yamazaki was as usual, telling Li about his exaggerated stories on how airplanes came about. Master was anywhere but here. Tomoyo-chan looked extremely disappointed when she did not see Master. After she had checked, all of her luggage in, the group went to have a final gathering at the nearest Starbucks.

"Gosh, I didn't realize that we've known each other for so long and I can't believe you're actually leaving Tomoeda forever, Tomoyo-chan", Sakura reminisced.

"Well, it won't be forever, Sakura. It will just be for a very long time", Syaoran mentioned, in efforts to comfort his fiancée.

The Card Mistress nudged her fiancé in the rib. She noticed the sadness in Tomoyo's eyes.

"Daidouji-san, did you know that in Paris the French only eat snails and frog legs? Apparently they do truffles too but most of the time, the people don't eat because of the beautiful decorations on the plate", Yamazaki shared just before his girlfriend, Chiharu decided to pound his head.

Tomoyo smiled at the sight of her friends and then the smile fell as she realized that she was really leaving the place that she had grew up in. Unlike the other business trips that she had been to, this one was for 4 years. Her mother needed her to establish a company site in Paris and it was also to work on her fashion side of the toy company. The Daidouji enterprise has expanded its business to children and teenage clothing. It was in Tomoyo's department of specialization. This was the opportunity that she needed and it had been her dream but at what cost?

"Announcement for Flight VA 312, passengers please make your way to the International Boarding Terminal 4"

I could see that it struck Tomoyo-chan quite deep when the intercom made the announcement. Tears started to pour and extremely big hugs were exchanged. Ruby Moon in the form of Nakuru-chan refused to let her go. I gave her a little hug in my soft toy form, without notice of course.

"Is he working today, Spinel Sun?" she whispered.

I was forced to lie.

"I believe so, Tomoyo-sama", I answered.

She smiled and gave me a little hug.

"Tell him that I'll see him soon, then", she said.

Tomoyo-chan then set to leave for the terminal via checkpoints. She waved and disappeared behind the doors. The rest of the group was left upset of course but there was nothing else that we could have done. Sakura was disappointed that Master was not here and immediately asked Nakuru where he was.

"Nakuru-chan, where is Eriol-kun?" the Card Mistress asked.

"Yeah, where is Hiiragizawa-kun?" Chiharu asked as well.

Ruby Moon shuffled her feet and lied.

"He had to work, unfortunately but I'm sure if he could he would have been here for her", Ruby mentioned.

The girls were not too convinced with the answer.

"Well, he should have at least taken off the day to come and see her. She is his girlfriend after all. How hard is it to take a day off to say goodbye to your girlfriend?" Syaoran said, clearly unhappy.

Perhaps, it was harder than what most of us would have thought to say goodbye to the person you love most.

(O.o)

When we got home, Ruby Moon ran up to look for Master to sound her disappointment to him but he was nowhere to be found. He was usually in the study room but all we could find was just a letter for the both of us written on his special stash of paper. We knew then that it had to be serious. Master does not use it unless it was for something urgent. Master was not foolish enough to do something stupid, was he? Ruby Moon opened the letter.

**_Ruby Moon and Spinel Sun,_**

**_By the time you receive this letter, I would be on the same plane as Tomoyo is. I have decided to follow her and be with her where she needs me the most. I have come to realize that I have not only been hurting her by not attending to her needs but I have also been hurting her by believing that she would do better without me. If memories have served me right, she had held on to our relationship even when things seemed at its worst and it is time that I brush up myself for her. Spinel Sun, you have made me realized that love was something that outcomes cannot be controlled. She is the person that I want to be with and she is the person that I am willing to forego everything for. Ruby Moon, I miss hearing your voice and I know that if this plan of mine works then I will probably not hear it for a relatively long time. You will find out within this week if my plan had worked. If I return then it would have failed but if I do not return, then you know that it has worked. Do not worry about me, look after yourselves you two. Try not to kill each other. Ruby Moon, do not feed Spinel Sun sugar. Until then, I will say see you later._**

**_Eriol Hiiragizawa._**

(O.o)

Master did not return and from what we know, he is with Tomoyo at this very moment. His plan was to work in Paris to be with Tomoyo and from his letters, it would seem that his plan had worked. He seemed to have worked it out and their relationship according to his words was 'hot as ever'. There were pictures sent with his letters and they seem to be happy. I wonder how long that happiness will last. Whatever it is, I hope that this does not make Ruby Moon overly excited or else that would mean that I have to suffer with too much sugar consumption. Wherever you are Master, I wish you happiness and I hope you look after Tomoyo-chan properly. Oh, and if it is possible, please come back and take me with you or else I will die soon with all this sugar.

(O.o)

"Eriol-kun, what are you doing?"

The navy blue haired sorcerer looked up and saw his girlfriend standing at the door, holding their lunch on a tray. He smiled and walked up to her, taking away the tray from her. The raven-haired girl frowned and shook her head.

"You took away my tray of food", she complained.

Eriol shook his head and smiled.

"I didn't took it away. I simply took over your job so that you can sit here and enjoy the food with me. Instead of serving me like a maid", he answered.

"Very funny, Eriol", the girl replied.

After setting down the tray, he took the girl's hand and whirled her around the room before kissing her knuckles.

"You like over exaggerated extravagance, don't you?" she asked.

"Only the best for you, my love".

Tomoyo giggled and watched as Eriol continue to kiss her hand. She had never been so happy in her life. The past few years had been nothing but incredible. She was shocked when she found Eriol sitting next to her seat at the plane. He had surprised her by quitting his job to be with her in Paris. One would have thought that it was difficult to find a job in a foreign country where you knew no one. Eriol was beyond special in that department. After all, he was a man with many special talents. It so happened that charming people was one of them. The years past that fateful day were easier to go through, as they were both in accord in the relationship. The most important thing was that they were both together.

"You want to know a little secret, Tomoyo?" Eriol asked.

Tomoyo took a bite from her Caesar roll and tipped her head to the side, in questioning manner.

"What?"

Eriol smiled.

"Spinel Sun knows more about love that he would want to admit himself", Eriol answered.

Tomoyo's lips curved into a smile before she continued to finish her roll.

"I guess his ego and Ceroberos' ego is the same after all"

"I would think so. Oh and another thing"

"What now?"

"Have you ever thought of marrying me?"

(O.o) The End (O.o)


End file.
